Emergency closure structure



May 30, 1950 R. A. MILLER EMERGENCY CLOSURE STRUCTURE Fi led Dec. 2'7,1946 Patented May 30, 1950 EMERGENCY CLOSURE STRUCTURE Robert A. Miller,'Iarentum, Pa., assignor to Pittsburgh Plate Glass 00., AlleghenyCounty, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 27,1946, Serial No. 718,843

1 Claim.

This invention relates to closure structures and it has particularrelation to windows which can be forced out to permit the escape ofpersons that otherwise might be trapped in vehicles, buildings or otherinclosures in which windows are employed.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved window equippedwith mounting elements which will yield under predetermined pressure topermit the forcing of the window panel or sash outwardly from itsmountings without necessity of cracking or disrupting the glazingmaterial.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved window somounted as to have along at least one side thereof a set of retainingelements which can be sheared off in response to predetermined pressureto permit the opening of the window under conditions of emergency.

Emergencies arise occasionally in operating passenger vehicles, such asbuses, automobiles, railway trains, etc. It is very important thatwindows be so mounted that they can be forced open without difiicultyand thereby permit passengers to escape through an opening entirely freeof fragments of glazing material which would otherwise present a hazardof injury by cutting.

One of the important phases of this invention involves the structure ofa closure panel which can be forced out under predetermined pressure andthe elements of the structure are so designed that the force required toopen the closure can be calculated at any desired value. It is of coursedesirable to maintain the windows permanently mounted and operable undernormal conditions. To this end, the improved window constructionincluded in this invention involves elements which traverse the jointsbetween the windows and surrounding frames and are adapted to be shearedoff to release the window when predetermined pressure is appliedthereto. The elements are composed of relatively soft metal or alloyselected according to its capacity to respond to shearing action andcommensurate with the number and size of the elements to be installed,

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a vehicle in which theinvention has been incor porated; Figure 2 is a fragmentary verticalsection, on a larger scale, taken substantially along the line II--II ofFigure 1; Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially along theline III-III of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective, on alarger scale, of the window panel mounting in a supporting structure;and Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical section similar to Figure 2illustrating another form of structure.

In one form of the invention, closure panels I!) are mounted in a bodyll of a vehicle [2 which includes for each panel a lower sill frame M, ahorizontal upper frame member 15 and vertical side frame members Hi. Inone form of structure the panel includes a transparent unit 20 which iscomposed of superposed sheets of glass 2| adherent and laminated to anintervening layer of organic plastic 23 to form a conventional safetyglass structure. The edges of this transparent unit are surrounded andembraced in a metal channel member 24 welded or otherwise rigidlysecured to a metal sash or frame 25.

The top and side portions of this frame are provided with faces 26 and21, respectively, which fit against correspondingly shaped faces 28 and29 of the top and side frame members l5 and I6. respectively. If desiredthese faces can be bevelled as shown in the drawing. The lower sectionof the sash is in the form of a channel member 30 in which the lowerportion of the glass receiving channel member 24 is rigidly supported.Hinges 3| are rigidly secured, as indicated at 32, to the channel member3!] and to the sill frame l4. Thus the closure panel can swing outwardlyon the hinges. It is to be noted that the bevelled faces 28 and 29provide an opening which flares outwardly so as to obviate frictionalbinding of the closure panel when its swinging action on the hinges isinitiated.

Advantages of using strong glass in vehicle windows are commonknowledge, as well as methods of treating transparent panels so as torenderthem strong and resistant to splintering. Glass panels can belaminated, annealed or otherwise treated to secure the desiredcharacteristics. Therefore, in cases of emergency it would be difficultto break through the strong glass to permit the escape of persons whomight be trapped in a vehicle when an accident occurs. In order that thesafety advantages of using glass of this kind may be available, as wellas a structure which will permit without difficulty the escape ofpassengers, the closure unit and surrounding frames are provided withtapered shear pins 4"], composed of relatively soft metal, such ascopper, zinc, lead, aluminum, or a suitable alloy, which can beprocessed to any desirable specification as to shear resistance. Theserelatively soft shear pins can be tapered if desired and inserted intapered openings 4| which are formed in the upper and side frame membersof the closure panel and extend into the surrounding frame structure.The respective openings in the closure panel and surrounding framestructure register when the panel I is closed and the shear pins canthen be inserted in the openings so as to traverse the window joints.The size and resistance of the shear pins are such that a passengerinside the vehicle can exert force to shear off the pins and to push thepanel outwardly upon its hinges 3i when it is necessary to do so. Byutilizing ins of this kind they can be designed to fail and permitopening of the closure panel in response to any calculated force whichmay be selected.

Referring to Figure 5, a metal sash 50 is mounted in a surrounding framesupport 51 similar to the support l5, and a channel member 52 embracingthe marginal portion of a monolithic glass plate 54 is welded orotherwise rigidly secured peripherally to the surrounding sash. Thisglass plate can be of such thickness, or treated in such manner as tomake it strong, or otherwise resistant to splintering by subjecting itto annealing or other known treatment.

In this arrangement hinges, such as those shown in Figures 2 and 4, areomitted and the sash 56 with the glass mounted therein can be fitted inthe surrounding frame support 5! so as to have its outer facesreleasably held against the surrounding frame support by means ofshearable pins 56 which correspond to the pins 46 previously described.These pins can be of such size and distributed in such manner as tooffer calculated resistance in shearing them before the window can beforced from its mounting. As shown in Figure 5, the pins 56 are disposedat, and extend through, the top, sides, and bottom of the sash andsurrounding frame support, in the same manner as the pins 56 are mountedin the I top and side portions of the window shown in Figures 2 and 4.In a construction of this kind the window can be forced out bypredetermined pressure exerted at the top, bottom or sides thereof.

Although illustrative forms of the invention have been shown anddescribed in detail it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatthe invention is not so limited but that various changes can be madetherein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention asexemplified in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a vehicle glazing structure, a panel including a glass plate and arecessed sash receiving rigidly the edge portions of the glass plate, aframe surrounding the sash and defining a window opening, the outerperipheral portions of the sash being bevelled and converging in outwarddirections, the inner surrounding surfaces of the frame convergingcorrespondingly to the converging portions of the sash in face to facerelation therewith, and shear pins transversing joints between the sashand the surrounding frame and said pins passing through thecorrespondingly converging portions of the frame and sash and beingshearable in response to predetermined pressure applied to said panel,said glass plate offering greater resistance topressure than theresistance offered by the shear pins in response to pressure applied tothe panel in shearing said pins.

ROBERT A. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Castor Sept. 12, 1.944

